Now that winter is over for a large portion of the country (sorry if you live up in the North) spring is either coming on in full force or slowly creeping it’s way in with daytime temps climbing back up into the 60F to 70F range. These temperatures are what we’ve been waiting for and are just teasing us to get back outside and ride.

The rain, snow, and ice that winter brings can have serious effects on the surfaces we ride on and can significantly increase the chances of our being involved in an accident if we’re not careful. Heading outside to ride after being on the trainer is awesome but there are some things you need to watch out for in order to make sure you come back in one piece.

Four Things To Watch For

1. Sand and Gravel. When the roads start to ice up and become slick, the transportation departments like to use sand and gravel to help cars maintain some semblance of control. It doesn’t help those that still want to drive at Nascar speeds during these conditions but for those who are cautious it can help. The problem for cyclists occurs after the snow and ice melt. The sand and gravel that was used to cover the roads is left behind after the snow and ice melt leaving it thick in some areas or just lightly coating the surface in others. You need to be cognizant of this potential hazard because hitting a patch of loose sand or gravel can easily cause you to face plant. Kevin over at The Life and Times of Biking Brady just posted about such an incident.
2. Debris. I’m not talking about hurricane like debris we can see down in Florida but rather small sticks that are remnants from branches being broken off trees due to the ice and snow. The big branches get stacked up at the curb for pickup by the city but where the branches fell, and where they were stacked next to the road, there’s probably quite bit of smaller branches or branch fragments that would make it very easy for an unaware cyclist to lose control or puncture a tire.
3. Wet areas. Damaged water pipes due to freezing conditions can be a big problem even after the warm weather arrives. Many of these leaks go neglected for a while and can make riding dangerous. If the leak is at a curve, or corner, take some extra care because having a wheel slide out from under you while diving into a corner at high speed could get ugly.
4. Potholes. These are problems even outside of winter but winter conditions have a way of making existing ones worse and making new ones at an exponential rate. This is a bit of a personal rant but Dallas is the worst area I’ve ever seen for potholes on an everyday basis. They’re everywhere and go neglected by the city forever. There are some you could potential lose yourself, your bike, or your care in. Or all three if you’ve carrying your bike on a trunk rack. Seriously. It’s terrible. The harsh winter only makes it worse. Be extra vigilant and look ahead for potential holes that could catch your front wheel end your cycling season prematurely.

There are four things to watch out for while out on your early spring ride. Take advantage of the good weather but be safe. If you have other tips please post them in the comments below.

Post Script

P.S. – If you have a keen eye, and I know my readers do, then you saw the unobtrusive (that means you would have had to have a keen eye, or two, to see it) newsletter sign up at the top right of the blog. It could represent a significant step towards my world domination but for the meantime it’s simply another way for me to connect to my readers. I haven’t fully vetted what I’ll use that newsletter sign up for but when I do you’ll be the first to know because you’ll be signed up and will get the news. Seriously though, it’s another step in the growth of Biking To Live and I encourage all my readers to sign up. I guarantee that I’ll never share your email address because I hate SPAM. Even SPAM in a can.

Feature image courtesy of hr.icio.

All my regular readers know that I went without a bike for about five months after my old one gave up the ghost. I bought a used bike in January and got on a borrowed trainer until the weather started to improve. On Saturday, I was able to get my first bike ride outside in over five months.

Getting Ready

I was in no hurry to get out first thing in the morning because it was cold (around 35F) but was due to warm up to around 60F during the afternoon. I targeted a ride time of around 10:00 AM to let it warm up some. I spent most of the morning making sure everything was ready – moving gear from my old seat bag to my new one, oiling the chain, putting air in the tires, making sure cleat bolts were tight, and so on. It took longer than I thought but I wanted to make sure everything was good. The only thing I didn’t find was my favorite water bottle that Cliff gave me. I had a backup but will need to go pick up a couple better ones.

The Ride

Back in October 2009 I moved to a place that now lets me ride straight from the front door and cut through some neighborhoods to get to White Rock Lake here in Dallas. I had mapped the route out on Google Maps and driven it once. I have to cross a couple of semi-major roads but the traffic isn’t bad at all. The route spits me out at Flagpole Hill and then I just cross Northwest Highway to get to the lake.

As I was cutting through the neighborhoods and approaching the backside of Flagpole Hill I noted that I was going downhill quite a bit. That would mean going uphill on the way home. I didn’t care though. As I approached Flagpole Hill I saw my first challenge of the day – a two-level hill that didn’t look fun. About half-way up there was a flat section that gave me a small break which helped. After getting to the top it was back down and on over to the lake.

There were a few people out but most were runners. There were a few cyclists but not near as many as there will be in a month. I’m sure the temperature kept them at bay this morning and boy did they miss out. Seeing White Rock Lake during this time of year was a big change. The trees were barren and everything was brown. With no leaves to block views I could see more of some of the beautiful houses lining the lake. It was nice but I miss the green.

I made one full loop of the lake and then headed back for home (about 18 miles total). This would be the hardest section of the entire ride. The first hill I saw the approach to Flagpole Hill. Some of you may remember that this is the hill I used last year for hill repeats. It’s just as brutal as I remember and it literally punched me in the gut. I crawled up it full of shame. Once on the backside I coasted down but knew I had two more hills to get up. Both of them were just as bad as I thought they would be and totally wiped me out. Once past the last hill though it flattens out for the last mile or so home.

The New Bike Performed Great

The new bike is awesome. It accelerates so easy and the extra gears (my last bike was a 7-speed cog and this one is a 9) really helped on the hills. I found that I can cruise along several miles an hour faster than I could on my old bike which really surprised me. Even as out of shape as I am I felt like I was already performing at a level above what I could on my old steed. Once I really start getting the miles in, and attacking the hills, I’m looking forward to seeing where this year in cycling will take me.

The day wasn’t without issues though. Namely my poor, unfit, ghastly looking body. I’m so out of shape. This short 18 mile ride totally wiped me out and left me sore on Sunday. I’ll get over this as I put the miles in. Going without a bike for 5 months didn’t help but there were things I could have done to take care of myself in the meantime. Can’t focus on that now though. Eyes front.

I’ve Missed Riding

I didn’t realize how much I had missed riding. I was only a few hundred feet from the house and was already feeling great. The cool air, wheels rolling on the pavement, clicking of gears, heaven. I found myself saying ‘Goodmorning’ to almost everyone I came across. I’ve needed this so bad.

Thanks to all my readers who have put up with my whining, posturing, and lack of posts these last five months.

I’d also like to point out that Jeff over at 331miles also returned to the bike this weekend and Mike over at Mike’s Bike Blog wrote a great race report.

Image by Fluturilla.

Thanks to Victor Jiminez of Bicycle Lab (@bicyclelab on Twitter) for his assistance in putting this article together.

As the weather warms up ever so slowly here in North America, more and more cyclists will be leaving the trainers behind and heading outdoors to get their rides in. Before heading out we need to make sure we have all the required equipment and one of those items is our helmet. Of all our road cycling gear, I think the helmet is the most important item as it offers protection for our gray matter in the event we do crash.

Five Steps To Choosing A Cycling Helmet

1. Find your price point. Road cycling helmets are typically between $60 and $250. Design, materials, retention systems and purpose are what drive the prices. They all offer protection if you crash but features like custom fitting mechanisms, visors, adjustable/removable padding, reduced weight, exotic materials, and extra ventilation will cost more. More expensive helmets tend to have more adjustable fit and retention systems. For around $100 you can get a very good quality and nice fitting helmet.
2. Check the certification. Cycling helmets have certification? Absolutely. Helmets sold in the U.S. are required by law to meet testing standards as set forth by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). The purpose of these tests is to make sure that the helmet can handle the impact if you were to crash. With helmets getting lighter and more comfortable every year a standard is necessary to ensure that you’ll be protected. Look for the CPSC stamp or sticker on the helmet.
3. Pick some helmets. Road cycling helmets often sport very light weights, maximum air flow for good ventilation, and improved aerodynamic designs. All of those improvements are achieved at a cost. Take a look at the helmets available and find a few that appeal to you taking into account your budget and the helmets features. They do make road helmets specifically designed for women that have more feminine sizes, color choices, and space for ponytails.
4. Find Your Size. This is the most critical step in the entire process. You want your new helmet to fit correctly so it offers the protection it’s supposed to. Some of the lower end helmets may only come in an ‘Adult’ size so you may not need to measure your head size. More advanced helmets typical come in small, medium, and large sizes depending on the circumference of your head. You can measure the circumference of your head, at it’s largest point, with a flexible tape. This will give you a good starting point as the labels on the helmets will list both the helmet size and head circumference it’s made for. This is only a starting point though and my recommendation is that you try on several brands and sizes to find the right one. You may find that a medium in one brand fits more snugly than a medium in another brand while one is more comfortable than another. Most helmets now offer some kind of adjustable retention system that lets you dial in the fit so it’s just right. This is achieved with a ratcheting wheel or mechanism on the back of the helmet that lets you loosen or tighten the fit on the fly.

Four Steps To A Great Fitting Helmet:

1. Try the helmet on.
2. Hold the helmet tightly and shake your head like you are saying no ( it should be very snug with little play and generally very comfortable).
3. Adjust the retention system so that the helmet stays on your head.
4. Adjust the chin strap so that it’s snug when your your jaw is open.
5. Get help. Don’t go it alone and ask for help when you’re in the store. The employees know how helmets are supposed to fit and can help you with both sizing and fit. That’s what they’re paid to do so take advantage of it.

We all have opportunities in life. Whether we take advantage of them or not is almost always up to us. Unfortunately, two of the biggest opportunities we miss is getting more exercise and losing weight. Why we don’t take advantage of those opportunities to fix those problems can usually be attributed to family, money, time, and career.

Missed Opportunities

Over the past 39 years I’ve missed lots of opportunities to both lose weight and improve my health. I’ve never really taken it seriously until the last year but even then only made a half-hearted attempt at it. I trained pretty hard last year to ride my first century until bike problems derailed that in September. While training I missed a huge opportunity adjust my diet and if I had done so I would have seen much more weight loss and better fitness gains. Am I unhappy with what I achieved last year? No but I know it could have been better. That’s why this year, my 39th year, will be a breakout year. I will not reach the age of 40 without making some big changes.

Over the past two weeks I’ve been posting articles on commitment, self-discipline, 50 reasons cycling is great, motivation, how to measure cycling success, and nutrition. All of those articles mean something to me personally and I hope will inspire cyclists or others, like me, trying to lose weight and improve their lives.

What Am I Going To Do?

1. Ride. I never would stopped riding if my old bike hadn’t given up the ghost. There’s nothing I could do about it though and that bike gave me over 15 good years when I actually used it. Now that I’ve finally purchased a newer used bike I can begin training in earnest again. I started on the trainer a couple of weeks ago in order to get my legs back and get reacquainted with sitting in the saddle. I’ll continue on the trainer until the evenings start to get longer and if the weather is good on the weekends plan on riding out at White Rock Lake again. I moved to a new place a few months ago and am now within riding distance of the lake instead of having to drive there.
2. Train. When preparing for my first century I followed a Century Training Plan out of Bicycling Magazine. I think it did a great job in preparing me even though I didn’t get to ride the century. I think it’s very important that when we ride we ride with a purpose. That means each ride is part of either a short or long range training plan (I can thank my 16 years in the Navy for this kind of thinking). I’m very tempted to restart the Century Training Plan and target a late spring century ride. I plan on doing a post about training in the near future.
3. Eat right (Live). This is my biggest missed opportunity of all. I’ve known for years that my eating was terrible but never took the time to fix it. That changed yesterday when I got started with nutrition. Initially I’ll just be counting calories while adhering to a 2000 calorie per day plan. I want to get a feel for portion sizes and what nutrients I’m getting first and then start fine tuning it later. The two biggest things for me in this area is to stop eating out and to drink more water. Look for more posts on nutrition in the future.

Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)

Today I’m 39 years old. I don’t bring that up just to get ‘Happy Birthday’ comments (although those are nice) but to bring up the point that I’m at a major cross roads in my life. I’ve missed opportunities for 39 years to improve my fitness and health. I don’t want to turn 40 a year from now and not have turned things around. I missed opportunities to do things with my cycling that I had always wanted to do like local criteriums and time trials. I really want to change that and see if I can get myself into some semblance of athletic fitness to attempt those things.

What Am I Getting For My Birthday?

My wife sent me an email this morning letting me know that she and the girls couldn’t decide which Twin Six jersey to buy me so they left the decision up to me but I am leaning towards buying myself a new helmet instead (edit: I’m getting the helmet). I’m way overdo for one and would rather wait on the jersey until I can fit into it better. I’m also waiting to hear back on something I submitted myself for that’s announced on 2/28 (it’s not job related). Not sure if I’ll make it but if I do it would be a great birthday present and I think would go a long way in helping me, and others, in the three areas above. Only time will tell but I imagine the competition is tough.

Throwing Down The Gauntlet

I’ve laid out in broad strokes what I’m doing above. Details will emerge later as I refine my training and nutrition plans. Are any of my readers doing the same? Are you waiting for an excuse to Ride, Train, and Live? Are you up for the challenge?

Feature image courtesy of Baston.

I’ve made a commitment that today I start counting my calories and eating better (you’ll know why tomorrow). I did buy a food scale this weekend and have messed around with The Daily Plate so that I can start tracking my calorie/nutrient intake on a daily basis.

Right now my daily calorie intake is set to 2013 calories. This takes into account my age, height, current weight, activity level outside of cycling, and my goal to lose 2 pounds per week. I’m certainly not going to bore you with what I’m eating each day but will provide any insight or lessons learned I have.

I Need To Get Smart

I am so dumb in the area of nutrition management as it pertains to cyclists. I know snippets of info here and there but there is so much info out there that information overload can be achieved in about 30 seconds. Stuff like hydration, supplements, when/what to eat before/during/after riding based on what type of ride it was, etc. I’m probably going to do some research and experiment a lot and see what works while keeping track of my calorie intake and losses.

Creating A Meal Plan

I want to move to a point where I plan out my meals a week in advance. That way it will make my shopping/cooking easier. I thought this might be easy but I’ve found out that it isn’t. I’ve found some 2000 calorie/day meal plans on the Internet and may give them a try (or at least portions of them). At least initially, I think I may just stick with weighing/counting what I’m eating and see how that goes right now. Today I have to pick up some measuring cups.

If any of my readers have recommendations, advice, or experience in these areas I’m all ears. That includes book recommendations.

Feature image courtesy of Beth Rankin.

Cycling clothes. They can be the bane of our existence as a cyclist. We’re ridiculed because non-cyclists think we look funny in them. We’re self-conscious because of how we look in them (at least I am). I love cycling clothing. It’s functional and jersey designs can be pretty cool. I also hate it.

Do they make cycling clothes for real people?

So what if I can’t fit into the same tshirt I wore in sixth grade. What’s the big deal? You mean, as a cyclist, I’m supposed to fit into a pair of bibs or a jersey designed to look tight on my little sister? Seriously?

By real people I mean cyclists, like me, who are struggling to lose weight. Cycling is a great way to lose weight but the clothing manufacturers out there aren’t thinking about us when designing their spring lineup. I seriously think they use a telephone pole as a prop to help them determine sizes. If they’re designing European sizes then they use a 4×4 post.

That’s all in jest of course but I think the underlying argument is valid. Overweight cyclists have a hard time finding cycling clothes that fit. Then you take somebody like me who’s overweight, and short (only a 27.5″ inseam), and you’re screwed. There wouldn’t be a problem if we (I) were height-weight proportionate but that’s why we (I) took up cycling in the first place. Catch 22.

Are there cycling clothes out there that will fit? Yes, but it’ll be hard finding something that fits right. For instance, in order for me to find bibs that can compensate for my excessive girth I have to buy in the 3XL size which is usually designed for somebody really tall. That means the bibs are too long. It takes some experimenting and shopping around to find stuff that works.

Love and Hate

Where To Find BIG Cycling Clothes

I know they aren’t popular among the ‘purists’ and ‘pros’, but Bike Nashbar has jerseys and bibs that fit me. I’m talking about the Nashbar brand clothing not name-brand stuff like Pearl Izumi, Cannondale, or others. One of my favorite pairs of bibs is a Nashbar brand. Catch their stuff on sale and you can get some good deals.

Performance Bike sometimes has some stuff that will fit too. I’ve got a good long sleeve jersey I got from them last year that’s great. Jerseys are easier for me to find though. Jerseys for big folks with cool designs are hard to find (there are some). Mostly expect to have your choices limited to solid colors. BikeJerseys.com seems to have a selection of cool big dude jerseys but I’ve never bought from them. I’ll have to do that and do a review. I’ve also recently discovered Aerotech Designs and will look at them too.

There are times I don’t feel like looking like a overstuffed sausage and wear a big workout shirt made by Russell Athletic. It’s comfy and cool. There’s no rear pockets or ‘style’ factor though.

Your Thoughts?

I know most of you just want to tell me to deal with it and ride. I can understand that. You can say as much in the comments. If you’re like me though, and can’t buy your cycling clothes off the rack, perhaps you have some additional resources I haven’t listed above.

In the meantime, it’s back to counting calories and riding.

Feature image courtesy of n0seblunt.